COLOURFEST: A restorative alternative to summer festival madness

4-day Celebration of Yoga, Dance, Music, Theatre and Arts

The seventh Colourfest returns to Gaunts House in the beautiful Dorset countryside from Thursday 31 May to Sunday 3 June, bringing a unique opportunity for celebration and connection through yoga, dance, music, ceremony, theatre and arts.

Set amid open landscapes, stunning vistas and ancient trees, the alcohol and drug-free event offers a restorative alternative to the many hedonistic music festivals in the UK summer calendar. With yoga at the festival’s heart, the many workshops, performances and fun-filled activities are infused with its spirit and ethos, bringing the chance for deep connection and nourishment, and generating a calm and uplifting ambience.

Robbie Newman, co-organiser of Colourfest says: “Colourfest blends inner rest with more active expressions and promises to be playful, enriching and insightful, celebrating the many colours of life. The delicious blend of yoga, movement, music, creativity and spirited celebration leaves you feeling connected, in the flow, and full of the joy of being alive.” 

For lovers of movement, the festival offers collaborative dance jams and a variety of workshops covering yoga, dance, and the psychology of movement. Dance highlights include ceremonial dance with African dance superstar Denise Rowe; the UK’s first ecstatic dance band, The Urubu Collective; and silent ‘5 Rhythms’ dancing in the woods with disco headsets.    

Denise Ro-dance, photo: Andreia Dias

This year’s yoga programme features many high calibre teachers including internationally-renowned hatha yogi, Swami Ashokananda, Director of the New York Integral Yoga Institute. Catering for a diverse range of styles, and including acro yoga and partner yoga, many classes will be accompanied by live music, from DJ sets to kirtan chanting. The wider wellbeing programme also includes gong baths, sound healing, meditation, and other personal development workshops.  

On the music front, the eclectic line up of bands and musicians in the Colourfest Café are selected to soothe, inspire and uplift. Confirmed 2018 highlights include Glowglobes with their French-lilted mix of acoustic gypsy-jazz, folk and vocal harmonies, and “good time jazz-band” Skedaddle blending jazz, klezmer and Balkan gypsy songs and dances.

The festival’s kids’ area is a safe and creative space for children to learn and grow. Complete with an outdoor pool, the area also includes a woodland fairy walk and tents for crafts, storytelling, children’s yoga, hooping and theatre.

The venue, Gaunts House, provides clean on-site toilets and showers and the option of indoor accommodation for over 100 people, while cafes and vendors across the site proffer a delicious range of vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Rowan Cobelli, co-organiser of Colourfest says: 

“Upbeat, nurturing and family friendly, Colourfest is a constantly evolving gem of a gathering created for people looking for a connecting and restorative festival experience. Our programme caters for those just starting to explore themselves and life in a deeper way, as well as offering more intensive opportunities for those more experienced in transformative work. 

“Alongside the uplifting workshops, keeping the event alcohol and drug free really charges the atmosphere in beautiful ways. We encourage you to come for the full four days as it takes time to drop into a slower pace and build sufficient resources to really open up to and benefit from the wellspring of natural treasures this festival offers.”

Colourfest takes place from 31 May–3 June 2018 at Gaunts House, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 4JD. For more information and tickets visit: https://colourfest.co.uk/tickets/

Will Gethin is the founder of Conscious Frontiers. 

The Artist’s Way

Sharon Garfinkel, fundraising manager at Resurgence, discovers the key to connecting with our creativity.

Along with over 200 people, I spent one of the hottest weekends of the year doing a workshop led by Julia Cameron, best-selling author of The Artist’s Way.

First published in 1992, the book has sold in its millions. Its central premise is that if we want to get in touch with our creativity we need to embark on two regular activities. Every day we must commit to writing Morning Pages – these are three pages of stream of consciousness which must be written as soon as we wake and before our brain gets into gear ie before looking at our phone, or even cleaning our teeth. In addition, we must take ourselves on a weekly Artist’s Date. This is a key mechanism for reawakening our creativity and we can go anywhere which speaks to us such as a gallery or market.

The course worked by getting us to write freely under pressure. These exercises included listing ‘five lives it would be fun to have’, ‘A great adventure I would like to have’ and ‘If my ego would allow it, I’d try…’

After the exercises, we then worked in clusters discussing what we had written. Each cluster activity lasted no more than 15 minutes. At the end of each group exercise, we gave those in our cluster “popcorn” – ie scribbled words of encouragement. The beauty of this exercise is that we were constantly changing groups and regularly meeting new people.

Organised by Alternatives – an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness and offering practical, inspiring and alternative solutions for everyday living – the weekend was fantastic. Everyone left with a beaming smile and a determination to continue this exhilarating work.

At 69, Julia – the ex-wife of Martin Scorsese – shows no sign of stopping. She is regularly in the UK and if you get the chance to go on one of her workshops, please do so.

Find out more about Julia Cameron
Find out more about Alternatives, including forthcoming courses and events.

Sharon Garfinkel is the Fundraising Manager at The Resurgence Trust.

Sixties Songs of Revolution

In celebration of our 300th issue of Resurgence and the culmination of its 50th anniversary year – we have been looking back to the explosive era of the magazine’s emergence, ’66 - ’70, and have selected the defining revolutionary songs of the times.

Our 300th issue, just published, aptly coincides with the current You Say You Want a Revolution?  Records and Rebels 1966-1970 exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. To commemorate this, the staff at Resurgence & Ecologist have compiled our ‘Top 20 Songs that Changed the World’ from the turbulent late Sixties era which is available on the magazine’s website.

Here is our Top 10 Songs of Revolution:

1.    Lennon and Yoko – Give Peace a Chance (1969)

2.    Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi  (1970)

3.    Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A Changin’ (1964)

4.    The Beatles - Revolution (1968)

5.    Buffalo Springfield - For What it's Worth (1967)

6.    Malvina Reynolds - God Bless The Grass (1966)

7.    Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World  (1967)

8.    James Brown - I’m Black and I’m Proud (1968)

9.    Jimi Hendrix – The Star-Spangled Banner (Woodstock, 1969) 

10.    John Lennon – Imagine (1971)

The V&A’s flagship exhibition, You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970, focuses on late Sixties’ pop culture and the wider perspectives which, like Resurgence, it gave voice to - such as the struggles for human and civil rights, a burgeoning interest in Eastern and other forms of spirituality, the development of environmentalism and feminism, and concerns about the impact of consumerism, to name a few.

Greg Neale, Editor-in-Chief of Resurgence & Ecologist, whose article about the flagship V&A exhibition for the 300th issue of the magazine, considers the influence of Sixties’ counter-culture as a stimulus for lasting change, says: “The You Say You Want a Revolution? exhibition provokes the question, ‘did the Sixties really change the world?’ While much of the work considered in the exhibition proved to be ephemeral, the explosion of creativity from the era is undeniable, as is the rising influence of the Green Movement which Resurgence pioneered. The emergent back-to-the-land ideas of self-sufficiency, return to Nature, and new technologies that focused on the Earth’s fragility were to become the most far-reaching of the era.”

Greg Neale continues: “To celebrate our 300th issue of Resurgence, we’ve compiled our ‘top songs from the era which changed the world’. Many of today’s prevailing ideas about the environment, social justice, wellbeing and peace, as continuously featured in Resurgence, were fuelled by the legendary songs of this period – from The Beatles’ Revolution and Lennon and Yoko’s Give Peace a Chance to Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi and James Brown’s I’m Black and I’m Proud. Our list includes protest, civil rights and anti-war songs, as well as tracks that powerfully evoke the emotional and revolutionary spirit of the times. We invite you to share your feedback on our song choices on the Resurgence Trust Facebook page, and we’d love to hear which songs you think most changed the world.”

The milestone 300th issue of Resurgence comes in a year of milestones for the magazine, including the ‘One Earth, One Humanity,One Future’ festival in Oxford in late September, which united the world’s Green and Social Justice Movements to celebrate Resurgence’s 50 years at the forefront of environmental change, and to share ideas for building a more sustainable, healthy and harmonious future.

Paul McCartney says: “Happy 50th anniversary Resurgence!  My family and I have been involved in animal welfare and vegetarianism for many years and would like to congratulate you for the good work you do for the planet and the creatures who live in it. Best wishes for the future.”

The pinnacle of Resurgence’s 50th anniversary year, the 300th issue now flies the flag for many of the enduring ideas the magazine has pioneered since 1966, which remain relevant and critical, today. Highlights include Christine Toomey’s profile on global mindfulness pioneer, Thich Nhat Hanh; Roman Krznaric’s elucidation on how cultivating empathy can transform societies; articles by Meg Beresford (former General Secretary of CND) and Ione Bingley highlighting the plight of bees, butterflies and nature at risk; and an article by Fritjof Capra sharing new scientific evidence for the long held supposition of Buddhists and others that humans are interconnected and part of nature.  The issue also infuses the magazine’s usual rich mix of news, arts and book reviews, and includes pieces about the growing resistance to fracking worldwide; approaches to ending poverty; green business; natural foods; and the importance of scientific and religious groups cooperating on environmental issues.

To view Resurgence’s full ‘Top 20 Sixties Songs that Changed the World’ selection, and to read Greg Neale’s article re the V&A exhibition, visit: www.resurgence.org/revolution

Resurgence invites you to share your thoughts on their song choices on the Resurgence Trust Facebook page. They’d also love to hear which songs you think most changed the world!

To order the 300th issue of Resurgence & Ecologist (Jan/Feb 2016) in print or PDF format, visit the Resurgence online shop. For details of The Resurgence Trust’s special Gift Membership offer, visit our gift membership page.

Flying the flag for a greener future

Help Resurgence celebrate 50 years at our festival in Oxford next month!

Leading figures from the environment, peace and social justice movements prepare to gather at Worcester College in Oxford for Resurgence’s One Earth, One Humanity, One Future festival next month (22nd -25th September) celebrating our 50^th anniversary and setting out a new vision for a more sustainable future.  Please join us if you can and be part of the conversation! 

Famously described by The Guardian as the “spiritual and artistic flagship of the green movement”, Resurgence – published as Resurgence & Ecologist since 2012 – started life in 1966 as a radical fringe magazine and has gone on to become the leading voice for some of the crucial environmental issues of our times.

The lineup of speakers includes Craig Bennett (Friends of the Earth), John Sauven (Greenpeace), David Nussbaum (WWF), Caroline Lucas (Green Party), HRH The Prince of Wales (delivering a video address), Mark Goldring (Oxfam), Jonathon Porritt (Forum for the Future), Jeremy Leggett (Solar Century),  Tim Smit (Eden Project), American environmental activist Bill McKibben,  Dame Fiona Reynolds, Tony Juniper, filmmaker David Puttnam, Rowan Williams, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, MP Andrew Mitchell, and ‘Earth Pilgrim’ Satish Kumar - who edited Resurgence for 43 years and continues to manage the Resurgence Trust,  the educational charity which publishes the magazine and its two websites.   

Satish Kumar, renowned for his many long-distance walks for peace and environmental causes, will be making a 50-mile pilgrimage to the festival, travelling from the source of the Thames to Oxford, arriving on Wednesday 21^st September. 

Satish and Greg Neale, his successor as Editor-in-Chief at The Resurgence Trust, said:  “Over three days of lively dialogue, discussion, talks, performances and celebration, many outstanding ecological, environmental and political thinkers, plus artists, poets and spiritual leaders, will celebrate 50 years of Resurgence, and share their passion, ideas and inspiration for building a more sustainable world for the 50 years to come.”

Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva, who will address the causes of climate change at the festival’s launch event, said: “For the past 50 years, Resurgence has been championing the interlinked causes of sustainability, social justice and respect for Nature. Now the time has come to design a new way of life and economy, so that we can sustain human existence without harming the Earth.”

The festival talks, panel sessions and lively debates, will be interspersed with stirring arts performances, including traditional Indian dance by Nilpah Shah, a performances by the Dragon School’s Idris Choir, and poetry from Simon Armitage, Matt Harvey and US rapper and activist, Prince Ea.  

Michael Morpurgo, former children's laureate, whose books famously inspire children to discover and cherish nature, and who is also appearing at the festival, said:  “Now more than ever it matters that we look after our planet, that we feel the belonging that leads to a sense of both wonder and responsibility.  Thank you to Resurgence for providing this One Earth, One Humanity, one Future festival as a platform for us to tell the story.”

Held in partnership with Oxfam, UPLIFT and Network of Wellbeing, the One Earth, One Humanity, One Future festival will critically highlight the importance of respecting and caring for our Earth and all its living creatures and plants as a vital first step to inspiring real and lasting sustainable change.    

For more information about One Earth One Humanity One Future, visit: www.resurgence.org/R50event

More Information about Resurgence: Resurgence & Ecologist magazine and its two websites (www.resurgence.org; www.theecologist.org) are published by The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity (no. 1120414) which promotes ecological sustainability, social justice and spiritual values. For details of how to become a member of The Resurgence Trust, and receive six magazines a year, visit our membership page, or contact the Trust: 01208 841824. To order the latest issue of Resurgence & Ecologist (Sept/Oct 2016) in print or pdf format, visit:  http://www.resurgence.org/shop/issues.html

Will Gethin is a freelance journalist and Founder of Conscious Frontiers

One Earth, One Humanity, One Future

Join us to celebrate 50 years of Resurgence at our festival in Oxford where we bring together 50 plus international speakers and performers to galvanise action for a more equitable and sustainable world.

We’re very excited to be celebrating 50 years of Resurgence at our One Earth, One Humanity, One Future festival at Worcester College in Oxford from 22nd-25th September, which will gather leading international environmentalists, social justice and wellbeing activists, politicians, artists, writers and performers, to explore ways to build a more equitable and resilient future.

Likened to a “Hay Festival for the green and social justice movements”, the festival will also bring together leaders from Oxfam, Green Peace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and other pioneering NGOs - as well as Resurgence readers, fans and the public – to share ideas and inspiration for creating a more sustainable future, and to collectively reinforce the Green Renaissance which Resurgence helped to initiate. It’s extremely rare and exciting to have such an eclectic range of global change makers all in one place to share ideas and inspiration for making our planet a more sustainable, healthy and happy place to live in for future generations.

The line up of speakers and performers  gathering to expound the holistic vision for humanity which Resurgence has helped sustain for half a century includes US spirit and science author, Fritjof Capra; Indian activist and campaigner for farmers' rights, soil and seeds, Vandana Shiva; Green MP Caroline Lucas; environmentalist Jonathon Porritt; campaigner and celebrity chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall; filmmaker Lord Puttnam; former Children’s Laureate, Michael Murpurgo; bestselling US author Dr Bruce Lipton; ‘new economy’ pioneer Helena Norberg-Hodge; land artist Richard Long; mindfulness pioneer Mark Williams; former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams; and US rapper activist Prince Ea – a celebrated voice for the youth generation.  Early booking is advised as events are already selling out.

"The One Earth, One Humanity, One Future festival promises to be an extraordinary occasion,” says Greg Neale, Editor of Resurgence & Ecologist magazine. “It's rare to have so many distinguished figures from the worlds of environment, social justice, spirituality and the arts together over three days in such beautiful surroundings as Worcester College, Oxford.  We are looking forward not only to hearing leading thinkers discuss some of the most pressing topics of our age, but also to celebrating the history of Resurgence, planning the magazine’s future, and sharing ideas and inspiration for building a more resilient world for the next 50 years and beyond.”


Worcester College and its gardens provide a stunning venue and backdrop to this three day feast of dialogue, discussion, talks, stirring performances and celebration. Steeped in centuries of learning, the remarkable college architecture is set amid 26 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, offering a tranquil haven to discuss and reflect on the ideas and inspiration of the programme.

Other festival highlights include a video message from HRH The Prince of Wales entitled “Quest for Harmony”; US Sacred Economics author Charles Eisenstein’s call for a “Revolution of Love”; leading US environmentalist Bill McKibben’s plea to end our reliance on fossil fuel; Simon Armitage’s “Poems of the Land”; daily performances from the festival’s poet-in-residence, Matt Harvey; a talk by novelist Paula Byrne about the connecting stimulus of Nature poetry; a Resurgence Trust readers session led by Greg Neale; the launch of  Satish Kumar’s new documentary Being an Earth Pilgrim; and a talk by Mark Goldring, CEO of Oxfam GB, calling for solutions to global poverty.

Launched in 1966, sharing the radical ideas of Sixties idealists concerning everything from nuclear disarmament, decentralisation and localism, to environmental causes, human rights and animal welfare, today our once fringe publication Resurgence has become the leading voice for some of the crucial issues of our times.

Rock star activist Paul McCartney says: “Happy 50th anniversary Resurgence!  My family and I have been involved in animal welfare and vegetarianism for many years now and would like to congratulate you for the good work you do for the planet and creatures who live in it.  Best wishes for the future.”

At 50, Resurgence has come of age because the ideals and causes it stands for have become increasingly relevant and mainstream. Edited by Satish Kumar for the last 43 years, the magazine has created a common vision for the once disparate green, social justice and wellbeing movements to work together in service to the Earth and all living beings. Bringing these groups together to celebrate 50 years of Resurgence in Oxford, the festival provides a unifying focus to build a strong movement of ecological sustainability, social equality and spiritual renewal, the three dimensions of a holistic vision.

The One Earth One Humanity One Future festival is being organised by The Resurgence Trust  in partnership with Oxfam, UPLIFT, Network of Wellbeing and the Tedworth Charitable Trust.

Mark Goldring, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB says:  “We are delighted to be partnering with Resurgence & Ecologist to support this exciting One Earth, One Humanity, One Future festival in Oxford, celebrating Resurgence’s 50 years at the forefront of the green movement and exploring ways to bridge a more equitable and sustainable  future.”

BOOK NOW TO SECURE YOUR SEATS!  Event tickets bought individually for each session/event cost £10.00 per booking; speaker sessions cost £10 per person; a £10 discount is available for all bookings of £50 or over. For further information visit: www.resurgence.org/R50event or call 01497 822 629 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri).

More Information about Resurgence
Resurgence & Ecologist magazine and its two websites (www.resurgence.org; www.theecologist.org) are published by The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity (no. 1120414) which promotes ecological sustainability, social justice and spiritual values. For details of how to become a member of The Resurgence Trust, and receive six magazines a year, visit www.resurgence.org/membership;  or contact the Trust: 01208 841824

Music for Change - Resurgence & Ecologist joins Neil Young on tour

We’re very excited that Neil Young has invited Resurgence & Ecologist to join his tour of Britain and Ireland this week, helping to spread his environmental message – the tour starts in Belfast on Tuesday (7th June).

Resurgence & Ecologist will be part of the extensive ‘Global Village' of activists accompanying Neil Young’s tour, which has already toured the US with the veteran singer, and which will be a feature at the UK/ROI gigs this week in Belfast (SSE Arena, 7 June), Dublin (3 Arena, 8 June), Leeds (First Direct Arena, 10 June) and London (O2 Arena, 11 June), before continuing across France and Europe.



Neil Young's new album, The Monsanto Years, showcases the Canadian singer-songwriter's longstanding concerns for environmental issues, including the dangers of GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) and corporate power. It features songs exploring such topics as global hunger, pesticides and ecology as well as highlighting issue ranging from climate change and renewable energy to social justice, endangered species and ocean conservation. The tour, which is supported by Californian rock band, Promise of the Real, will also promote Neil’s new live album, Earth.

In the Global Village, we will join many other respected local and international green campaigners and organisations on the tour - such as Beyond GM, Friends of the Earth and Sustain - who have been invited to share their materials and messages at Neil’s gigs.

One of the few musical artists to have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame twice, Neil Young has been blazing a light on political and environmental issues through his music for decades. His song ‘Ohio’ – written during his days with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – was a condemnation of the shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 during anti-war protests. More recently he has protested against the tar sands projects in Canada, made a stand for the rights of indigenous peoples, and initiated a boycott of Starbucks until they stop supporting Monsanto’s bid to block GMO labelling in the United States.

Neil Young explains the Monsanto dilemma that fuelled his album and the tour: "The Monsanto Years are here and we are living them. Monsanto is the poster-child for what is wrong with corporate controlled government in our world. The Monsanto Years encompasses several associated subjects that millions of people worldwide are concerned about and active in. Earth is not ours. We are of the Earth. That's how I feel. When we plunder our own home we hurt our children and their children after them. I feel responsible."

Neil Young has also recently launched a resource website, GoEarth.org, to support people wanting to live a greener life, based around the activities of the Global Village.

“We’re delighted that Resurgence & Ecologist is joining Neil Young’s UK tour and quest to create more environmentally conscious world,” says Charris Ford, Neil Young’s Environmental Campaign Manager.  “Like Neil, both Resurgence and the Ecologist have been at the forefront of the green and social  justice movements for decades – and since the two magazines merged in 2012 – they have provided a strong united voice in the call for a more just and resilient future.” 

The Global Village comprises of six themed tents focussing on six different activist topics:  GMOs, Earth Ecology, Energy & Climate, Freedom & Justice, Future of Farming, and News You Can Trust. Attending fans will have the opportunity to talk with organisation representatives to learn valuable information about the most pressing ecological and social issues facing our planet today.

Resurgence & Ecologist will be featured in the 'News You Can Trust' tent, along with fellow green publications including Permaculture, Positive News, Peace News and Earth Island Journal. We’re very grateful for this opportunity to communicate some of our shared ideals and messages for a more sustainable and fairer world to a wider audience via this tour.  This year – 50 years since Neil co-founded Buffalo Springfield in 1966 - Resurgence celebrates its own 50th birthday.  So like Neil, we were among the early campaigners for the sort of environmental and social issues that have become so relevant and critical today.

Do look out for Resurgence & Ecologist If you come to any of Neil Young’s gigs in Belfast, Dublin, Leeds or London - copies of the magazine will be available in the Global Village and we’ll also have a stand and reps from the magazine at the Belfast and London gigs who will be delighted to tell you more about the magazine and the wider work of The Resurgence Trust and answer any questions. We look forward to seeing those of  you that make it on the road!

MORE INFORMATION
Details of Neil Young’s European tour dates can be found here.

The Letter from America is an open letter from citizens of the US to citizens of the UK and the rest of Europe warning of the risks of GMOs. It was signed by groups and individuals – and celebrities- representing more than 60 million Americans and has been translated into eight languages.

Resurgence & Ecologist magazine and two websites: Resurgence and The Ecologist are published by The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity (no. 1120414) which promotes ecological sustainability, social justice and spiritual values.

To order the 50th anniversary issue of Resurgence & Ecologist (May/June 2016) in print or PDF format, visit the online shop

For details of how to become a member of The Resurgence Trust, and receive six magazines a year, visit the Resurgence membership page;  email the membership department or telephone: 01208 841824.

Kinkeling Community Garden– Fruit trees and Music make the world go around

This story begins back in 1998 when a friend and I, being young and naïve, bought some land in the Nuimi district of The Gambia in West Africa. I had only meant to have a quick adventure, get some headspace and learn some traditional African drumming. Anyway, we teamed up with some local Gambians and started working together on this four-acre plot of semi wild scrub. The land lies on the estuary of the river Gambia and it supports an amazing array of birdlife, as well as some huge baobab trees, a giant teak, lots of palms, and an area of rice field.

I fell in love with this place, where life felt very simple and where we were able to work without the sense of bureaucracy that I was used to in the UK. At that time, aged 23, I knew little and learned a lot. On and off, I spent seven years visiting, digging wells, drumming, planting trees and inviting visitors to camp with me over the winter months. We helped to support the maintenance of the project through our humble means. Then came studies, two children, and life. I left my Gambian friend Kabiro and his family living there, I didn't visit for a long time, and lost touch.

When I returned earlier this year after a seven-year absence, I had no idea what to expect.
What I found was that the place has now become a community garden and is used by several local families. Although many of the wells have fallen in, and the fence has half disappeared, the trees we planted fifteen years ago are now producing coconuts, mangoes, cashews, and other fruits. There is a sense of both dilapidation, and vibrant growth, and I hope and believe, that a crowd funding campaign can help to create a sustainable sense of growth within this small community. 

I enjoy getting my hands in the earth, and I am also a musician. One of the things that I love about working in West Africa, is that instead of taking a break to collapse into a chair, people often drum, dance and sing to generate energy. Now that I’ve grown up a bit, I feel that I have an opportunity to do something really positive, and to give my energy to a place and to people who don't have the same benefits and opportunities as we have in the 'West'. If I can keep drumming and dancing I’m sure it will all work out.

I don’t feel that it’s about ‘us’ helping ‘them’. I feel it’s about helping each other. There’s a lot we can learn from Africa; how to smile in the face of adversity, how to work to a rhythm instead of to a deadline, how to make do with little and how to be in community.

I'm now hatching plans, not just to maintain this wonderful resource, but to grow it and help to make new and exciting things happen. We are raising money through a crowd funding campaign to set up accommodation on site and a borehole for clean drinking water. With these two things, we can improve both the quality of life for the Gambians involved, and create opportunities for visitors from abroad to come and support and experience the joys and challenges of Gambian life. From the amazing birdlife, to the goats that roam and destroy the gardens - From the traditional Mandinka drumming and dancing to the fixation of the youth of living in Europe - From the battle to stave off the Sahara desert, to the peace and tranquility of the nearby Atlantic Ocean, there is a lot to be experienced.

Some of the things we want to bring to the project in the future are:  Facilitate and encourage organic vegetable growing, develop the forest garden, start a community tree nursery, explore alternative technologies, and support local musicians and craftspeople.

Please help to do this by contributing what you can! Every little helps, and you needn’t go away empty handed either. We are offering loads of great perks including a range of drums made by our favorite wood carver in The Gambia, kinkeling calendars full of bright images from the garden, music downloads to keep you dancing, and much more.

Thanks for your support.

You can support the Kinkeling Community Garden - Sound Of The Gambia project through the crowd funding campaign here (until 7 December 2015).
Allan Kerr, a musician based in Devon, UK. He performs with the band Ombiviolum who have played at the Resurgence Summer camp.

Summercamp magic at Green and Away

This year's Resurgence Summer camp takes place from Thursday 30 July until Sunday 2 August 2015 - providing a weekend of inspiration, ideas, wellbeing and networking in Europe’s foremost sustainable conference centre.

The Resurgence summer camp is an opportunity to be inspired, learn, discuss, explore ideas, recharge and relax. The camp takes place on a unique site run by Green and Away, aptly described as a ‘small corner of paradise’, situated alongside the River Teme, near Worcester.

Throughout the weekend there are talks by Resurgence & Ecologist contributors, workshops, music, craft and performance, with time for networking, discussions, walks, or simply enjoying the beautiful site, nestled near woodland and the river.

The summer camp gives people the chance to experience truly sustainable living within the context of a small community. It holds the vision of what our lives could and should be like – connected, joyful and inspired, with a sense of sharing and deep understanding, having the space to laugh together, exchange concerns and create solutions.

There are only 140 places on the camp, so by the end of the weekend there is a real sense of community, connection and wellbeing. An insight into how the camp makes people feel can be heard through the voices of those who’ve experienced the summer camp. Here are some reflections on previous camps: 

The Resurgence summer camp gives me the fuel to carry on living and promoting eco-justice.

Unique, inspiring and insightful talks. Open and safe space has allowed me to develop my inner wisdom and enabled my vision to come to the surface. Thank you everyone who shared wisdom from the heart on the start of my new journey.

I feel nourished in mind, body and spirit. I have been inspired by the young people here and am full of optimism for the future.

It has been a very instructive, nourishing, fun, and most of all heart-warming weekend. So many thanks. – Shantena, speaker

A huge thank you for such a magical and wonderful time I had at the Summer Camp, and I was genuinely sad to leave. It really is such a magical spot and the feeling of love for the Earth was so incredibly strong! - Polly Higgins

Thank you so much for hosting a wonderful and inspiring Resurgence camp.  It was certainly nourishing for and a celebration of the soil, soul and society!  We really enjoyed participating, exploring how to live Earth Law, and living in harmony with Nature.  The camp demonstrated to us the potential of alternative forms of messaging such as poetry and storytelling. We left feeling very creative. - Carine and Tom at Gaia Foundation and Wild Law UK

Green and Away set up their unique ‘outdoor conference centre’ every summer, thoughtfully constructed and organised to create the perfect space to exchange ideas about sustainable living and build solutions to our current crisis.

In addition to an eclectic selection of marquees, yurts, large tents and small break-out spaces, Green and Away also provide luxury accommodation for those who prefer to camp, glamping-style!

This year’s programme for the Resurgence summer camp includes:

Speakers

Julian Rose: organic farmer and activist

Paul Mobbs: environmental consultant, author & lecturer

Matt Harvey: author and poet

Joe Hoare: the laughing Buddha

Satish Kumar: Editor-in-Chief, Resurgence & Ecologist

Nicola Peel: Eyes of Gaia

Alex Nunn: Action for Happiness

Workshops

Qi Kong - Dong Sticks (bamboo stick exercises): June Mitchell

Harmony Singing around the fire: Janne Tooby and Toni Gilligan

Indian Raga and embodied voicework: Will Tooby

Music

Carolyn Hiller and Nigel Shaw

Sika

Open mic - share a poem, song, instrument or dance


Performance

Philip Ralph: The One Eyed Man

Miti Desai: Indian Dance

All food is provided in the weekend ticket price (3 meals a day, plus teac, coffee and homemade cake!). The food is lovingly prepared by the Green and Away team - all vegetarian, cooked on site using organic, local produce where possible and of course delicious.

Booking

Weekend tickets, including all food: £160

You can book ticket online on the Resurgence website. BOOK NOW

For enquiries, please call 01237 441293 or email us.
For more information about Green and Away, including luxury camping options visit the Green and Away website.

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The Resurgence summer camp is fundraising event for The Resurgence Trust, an educational charity dedicated to raising awareness of the key ecological and spiritual issues of our time. Registered charity no. 1120414.

Network of Wellbeing Celebrates World Environment Day

Florence Scialom looks at activities lined up by the Network of Wellbeing (NOW) to mark World Environment Day on Friday, 5 June.

NOW have shared a series of inspiring guest blog posts and videos on the connections between wellbeing and the environment throughout this week, as follows:

•    Connect with nature for improved mental health: World-renowned environmentalist Jonathon Porritt shares a guest post on the health benefits of nature. In particular, Jonathon talks about his experiences as President of The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), and TCV’s innovative Green Gyms project.
•    Nature is central to wellbeing: Campaigner, writer and leading environmentalist Tony Juniper shares a guest post offering his reflections on how Nature is central to our wellbeing, and should not be sacrificed for a misguided pursuit of 'progress'.
•    Strategies to build wellbeing for people and planet: This post shares some recent NOW video interviews, offering insightful perspectives on wellbeing and the environment. One interview is with Alan Watson Featherstone, Founder of Trees for Life and the other is with Chris Johnstone, Founder of The Centre for Resilience, Happiness and Positive Change.
•    Friends of the Earth: The final post in this series will be from Friends of the Earth, and will be shared on NOW’s blog on World Environment Day. 

Enjoy more with less

“Seven billion dreams. One planet. Consume with care.” This is the theme for World Environment Day 2015 shared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which coordinates global activities for the Day. This theme has served to inspire NOW’s range of activities. “Living sustainability is about doing more and better with less”, says the UNEP. NOW agrees, and therefore is keen to help highlight ways we can enjoy life with less, while being mindful of the world’s natural resources.

NOW has run a photo competition over the last month to help celebrate the lead up to World Environment Day, inviting entries which show how we can enjoy life more with less environmental impact. Prizes for the best entries include a free ticket to the Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing 2015 in London, a year’s subscription to Resurgence and the Ecologist magazine, and a free copy of Satish Kumar’s book, Soil, Soul and Society. Entries have now closed, and NOW will be announcing the winner(s) from the range of beautiful entries received on their blog soon.

Foraging for Wild Food

Throughout NOW’s activities for World Environment Day, it’s been emphasised that Nature is essential to our overall wellbeing. Another way NOW will be celebrating Nature’s bounty for World Environment Day is through running a Foraging Walk in Totnes (Devon, UK) together with Transition Town Totnes. NOW's Dr. Larch Maxey will be leading the Foraging Walk, and he’ll be guiding participants to find Spring treats from alexanders, daisies and  dandelions to valerian, wild garlic and yarrow. For those outside of Totnes, NOW have also put together a blog post sharing some useful resources on foraging.

Celebrating Nature

It has been proven that Nature is good for us, and the green life can be a good life. NOW wants to mark World Environment Day by encouraging people to connect with the joys of nature, and celebrate how it’s possible to enjoy life to the full whilst still respecting the environment.

You can help to spread the word to raise awareness about World Environment Day, through sharing some of the blogs, videos and photos mentioned above via social media. You can find NOW online via their website www.networkofwellbeing.org, as well as on social media via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Bionote
Florence Scialom has a background in communications, community building and research. She works at the Network of Wellbeing (NOW), helping to coordinate NOW’s online communications and community building. She holds a BA in International Relations and Development Studies, and an MA in Anthropology and Development.

Photo credit: Sunny Loch Lomond, in Scotland - World Environment Day photo competition entry from Rebecca Crowther.

Living Food – a feast for soil & soul

Daphne Lambert introduces a new model of publishing that connects authors, publishers and readers

Living Food – a feast for soil & soul brings alive the connections between the food we eat and the health of the planet; the book weaves its way through the seasons of nature celebrating each new harvest with simple recipes and shares with you a wealth of medicinal nutrition that supports health through the seasons of life from conception and birth through to elder-ship.

Soil, interconnectedness, simplicity, seasonal alchemy and beauty underpin the Living Food journey. Food is a major part of what integrates every organism into the environment in which it exists, it is our most intimate relationship with nature. By exploring this relationship it helps us to understand that our health and the health of the planet are interconnected: there is no division – we are one.

A diet of natural foods, sourced locally where possible, simply prepared observing traditional wisdom, acknowledges our inter-being with the Earth. These foods support low carbon living, minimise damage to natural resources, help to mitigate climate change and contribute to thriving local economies and sustainable livelihoods. By being mindful about what we eat, we become aware that nourishing ourselves and nourishing the Earth go hand in hand and in this place of presence, awareness and consciousness we find soul.

A new model of publishing
Unbound has created a new model of publishing – a collaboration between reader, author and publisher. This is how it works: in order to get the book published on its initial print run, there must be enough potential readers pledging to support the book financially. Unbound will publish Living Food as soon as the book has 900 pledges. We invite you to be part of this new publishing phenomenon by making a pledge for Living Food.

After the book is written, designed, edited and printed, you will receive a copy of Living Food either as an ebook or a limited edition hardback or paperback. By making a pledge you are simply buying the book in advance of publishing. There is no financial risk as your money is returned if there are not enough pledges to ensure that the book is published.
 
Make a pledge for Living Food
You can make a pledge for Living Food – a feast for soil & soul here. If you make a pledge you will receive a beautiful book full of food wisdom & nourishing recipes, together with essays from four guest writers: Romy Fraser, Diane Osgood, Miche Fabre Lewin & Sandra White; as well as some brilliant rewards.


Living Food – a feast for soil & soul by Daphne Lambert will be published by Unbound. For more information visit Greencuisine or contact: daphne[at] greencuisine.org 

Daphne Lambert is a medicinal chef, nutritionist, author and teacher. She is the founding member of the Greencuisine Trust an educational charity set up in 2011 to deepen the understanding between soil, food and well-being. Through innovative educational programmes and projects the Trust cultivates food knowledge and skills to enable  us to rethink our relationship to food.


                      

Salvation Within Paradox

Sara Zaltash reviews FutureNOW – the pioneering Spiritual Ecology conference with Tim Freke, Chloe Goodchild, Joe Hoare, Peter Owen Jones and Satish Kumar.
We met there on a grey Saturday drenched with autumn rains, perhaps 120 of the West Country’s bright-eyed devout; activists and herbalists, healers and meditators, growers and thinkers, each seeking the sound and vision offered by the pioneering pilgrims on the panel. As I looked around and locked eyes with a neighbour over here or smiled at a stranger over there, I knew that I had personally been called by the promise of a community coalescing around a certain truth: “that unless you have some roots in a spiritual practice that holds life sacred and encourages joyful communion with all your fellow beings, facing the enormous challenges ahead becomes nearly impossible.”

Ecology. Economy. Humanity. Spirit. Challenges indeed for a consciousness that is making leaps toward to collective realisation everyday. The Internet, of course, has gifted me the above quotation from Joanna Macy’s contribution to the community-defining collection of essays Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth, edited by contemporary Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee. At futureNOW I asked myself the same question as in present times: if all beings were truly to be given equal internet access, then why would some choose to become more enlightened than others? Perhaps because enlightenment is shrouded in mysticism, in mandala graphics and incense smoke, and social conditioning against such motifs is so strong that even a geezer like Russell Brand has to mind his patchoulis and quantum realities if he’s to get his meaning made. I confess that I am from another community too: I am an artist, an e’er-do-well and erstwhile academic. But that’s alright. Queuing up for morning tea I asked Will from Wiltshire, a university lecturer in environmental literature, whether he knew anyone else at this rock star convention of spiritual ecology leaders. “Not a soul,” he said, “But that’s alright. It’s important to be brave sometimes.”

Brave words indeed flowed from the radical Church of England priest and BBC TV presenter Rev. Peter Owen Jones, from stand-up philosopher and acclaimed author Tim Freke, and from the ultimate guru of this movement, the environmental activist, magazine editor and spiritual guide, Satish Kumar. These men spoke in turn about the need for humanity to relinquish its delusion of dominion over the planet and about accepting the ultimate mystery of existence. Kumar spoke about the loving sacredness of the soil, of society, of sacrifice – the necessary sacrifices of the mother, of the planet and of ourselves. Inspirational speakers, Rev. Jones and Kumar both upheld the twin peaks of land and spirit in their humbly ad libbed sermons, calling for the acknowledgement of the essential present-ness of our future responsibility to “eco”, our home. Bursting with insight, Freke offered paradoxological thinking as a salvation from the impotence that may come from abiding the mystery of all-being.  A proponent of love as a political act, Freke claimed “You Are The One” in a perfect paradox of consciousness consciously recognising itself, of humanity living its own dream.

As an artist-thinker, I enjoy a bit of practical guidance to usher in my cerebral shift. Noting that only in Western cultures does laughter need to be externally provoked, Bristol’s own laughing yogi, Joe Hoare, led us in several easy standing laughter practices. Stellar spiritual vocalist and teacher Chloe Goodchild was full of her own bright chuckles as she gathered us under the wings of her naked voice practice. Leading singing meditations throughout the day, Goodchild opened and closed the proceedings with her adaptation of Rumi’s well-loved verse: ‘Beyond ideas of right and wrong doing there is a field, I’ll meet you there.” Goodchild’s field is a singing field; in that field we met and she shared the seeds of various Eastern spiritual practices that combined with the voice carry our hidden gift for future generations.

Resounding from that day like the oft-rung meditation bell are some provocative unanswered questions from the closing Q&A session: when does mysticism first appear in children? How can we revere the earth? Are species other than humans involved in the evolution of consciousness? Perhaps the answer, as Hoare offered, is that ‘when you know how to listen, everything is your guru’. Rev. Jones spoke about the need to keep talking, to create space for conversations and community to bring about the changes we wish to be. For a novice pilgrim like me, practical guidance to walk in nature, to wash in the dew and to learn to bake my own bread were as comforting as the evolution of consciousness that is enacted by these actions towards personal, spiritual and environmental empowerment. The challenge of living a peaceful, respectful and unified future now is as real as our fields of land, of work and of energy. Let’s meet in that field, in the future, now.

FutureNOW was presented by Conscious Frontiers and took place on Saturday 8th November 2014 at Trinity Centre, Bristol. For more information visit FutureNow

Sara Zaltash is a British-Iranian live artist and performer. www.sarazaltash.com

Future Now

Taking place in the run up to Bristol's year as Green Capital 2015, this groundbreaking spiritual ecology conference calls for Consciousness Revolution.

Satish Kumar will be a keynote speaker for an exciting conference taking place at the Trinity Centre in Bristol on Saturday 8th November called Future NOW, which aims to raise the debate about the future and explore urgent solutions and mindful steps for sustaining the Earth so we can secure sustainable future lives for our children and grandchildren on this planet.

Co-organised by Conscious Frontiers, a leading edge speakers, communications and events agency, and Laughter Yoga expert/author Joe Hoare - Future NOW was inspired by the burgeoning Spiritual Ecology movement which seeks a spiritual response to our current ecological crisis, urging us to reconnect with Mother Earth as a sacred living being to which we all belong, and to recognise Her as the source of all life, not a resource to be plundered.
 
The compelling line up of eco-spiritual presenters for the conference includes Peter Owen Jones, Tim Freke, Chloe Goodchild and Joe Hoare and the day will include interactive breakout sessions exploring and reflecting on the question, “What can I do differently?”

50% of the proceeds from Future NOW will be shared between The Resurgence Trust and other charities and causes of the key note speakers - The Life Cairn Project, The Naked Voice and The Alliance for Lucid Living - all of which further the event’s aim to create a happier and more harmonious future for our planet.

Future NOW is a call to become more mindful, more peaceful, more connected and more loving to ourselves, to each other and to the Earth. It’s an invitation to take an active role in shaping a more sustainable and harmonious future.

Event details:

Date: Saturday 8th November, 10am-5pm 

Venue: Trinity Centre, Trinity Road, Bristol, BS2 0NW
Tickets to Future NOW cost £55 (£65 on the door). For bookings and further information visit:www.futurenow.consciousfrontiers.com

Will Gethin is Director of Conscious Frontiers.

Time to Get Serious About Laughter?

“Laughing Yogi” Joe Hoare explains the remedial benefits of laughter yoga.

‘It’s time to take laughter seriously’, says Dr Madan Kataria, founder of laughter yoga. Laughter has benefits on every level, including mindfulness and presence. These benefits are activated by the act of laughing itself and not by humour, and this is the basis for laughter practices world-wide.

Laughter yoga practices have a long pedigree. In Awakening the Laughing Buddha within my co-author Stephen Russell, the Barefoot Doctor, writes that the state of laughter readiness is a core Taoist principle, one with great antiquity. The Taoist insight is that sometimes laughing at the madness of life is the only sane response. As my valued co-author, his Taoist perspective on modern laughter practices adds depth to contemporary techniques.

The heart of laughter practices, whether in laughter yoga, laughter therapy or my own nls: natural laughter skills is the practice of laughter for its own sake. The benefits come from the act of laughing itself, not from waiting to find things funny. The curious and rather lovely spin-off is the more you laugh, the more you find to laugh about. This is where the mindful, empowering and healing dimensions take effect.

Laughter practices make you present. Whether you use them as a meditative practice or as a distraction, they pull attention into the present moment. When we have our attention in the present moment, we are not fretting about the past nor worrying about the future. This is the state of mindfulness. Associated with this state is a sense of peacefulness and happiness because except in exceptional circumstances, when you bring your attention into the ‘Now’ you experience joy. The progression, therefore, is that via mindfulness and empowerment, laughter practices help you access your own innate sense of joy. After all, as Deepak Chopra says: “True spirituality means not taking ourselves too seriously.”

As we outline in Awakening the Laughing Buddha within, laughter practices are easily initiated by smiling exercises, the experiential approach to Louise Hay-style affirmations.

They are surprisingly effective: ‘Vedant has really taken what you said on board and now everyone at our hospice is doing their 15 second smiles morning and evening. The patients respond really well to such a simple device - it is lovely to see the effect it has.’ (Christine West, Chair, National Association of Complementary Therapists in Hospice and Palliative Care)

Smiling exercises are exactly what they say – exercises in putting a genuine smile on your face and holding it there for at least 10-15 seconds. To keep it genuine requires an effort of will, also known as willingness. This willingness changes your mindset by inducing a sense of positivity in the same manner as a classical Louise Hay affirmation.

Smiling exercises are an easy starting point into the 5-stage model of walk the walk, feel the feelings, speak the words, think the thoughts, and live the life. Using this model, your whole being becomes engaged with the process. The cumulative effect transforms people’s lives, as a student of Joe’s laughter therapy testified:

‘I am writing to tell you what a positive and lasting effect the Laughter workshop has had on me. The workshop itself was fun, but also deeply serious in intent. Since then my husband’s deteriorating condition has put an almost unbearable strain on me. I have been practising the techniques I learned that day and sometimes they transform the situation and lift my spirits. I can’t begin to tell you what a difference that makes.’ (Carer delegate, Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust).

With evidence like this, isn’t it time for us all to add this approach to our spiritual tool-kit?

Joe Hoare is one of the UK’s leading Laughter Yoga therapists. He has dedicated himself to encouraging people to connect with their benign, creative individuality and to perform at their best. A charismatic facilitator of courses, workshops, retreats and one-to-one sessions, he is author of new book Awakening the Laughing Buddha Within, co-authored with Barefoot Doctor.

Joe is facilitating his next LFS: Laughter Facilitation Skills course on Friday 25th & Saturday 26th April at the Unitarian Chapel in Bristol. This course includes his nls: natural laughter skills. He is also hosting a laughter yoga seminar with the legendary “Grandfather of Laughter Yoga”, Dr Madan Kataria of India, founder of laughter clubs international, on Monday 9th June in Bristol.
For further details visit Joe Hoare’s website: www.joehoare.co.uk

Green House event

Green House Think Tank is an exciting new environmental organisation which was created last year with the remit of “challenging the ideas that have created the world we live in now, and offering positive alternatives”.  

I attended its recent event at The Guardian’s headquarters in London where Green House think tank chair Dr Rupert Read and Polly Higgins, environmental barrister and Damian Carrington, head of environment at The Guardian, explored the idea of the ‘Guardians for future generations’ idea which Rupert had developed in discussion and collaboration with the membership of the Alliance for Future Generations.

Over 40 people attended this event which included a mini-try-out of Rupert’s idea. Twelve of those attended the meeting – including me – were picked at random to form a mock-jury to decide an issue of vital importance to future people. Our topic was fracking and as a ‘super-jury’ we agreed, on balance, that it would be against the basic interests/needs of future people.

This mock-super jury session was modelled on Polly Higgins’s ‘mock ecocide trial’ of last year, which has been featured in Resurgence.

This event represented a new idea to charge a ‘super jury’ of ordinary people with more extensive powers than the House of Lords. It followed Rupert’s launch of the ‘Guardians for Future Generations’ report at the House of Commons in January. The report proposes that a council of randomly picked members of the public should be placed above the House of Lords to oversee all government decisions. The Guardians’ central powers would be a veto over new legislation that threatens the interests of future generations and a right to force a review of existing legislation that is already damaging their basic needs.

For more information on Green House Think Tank, please visit: http://www.greenhousethinktank.org/page.php?pageid=home

Sharon Garfinkel is PR and Marketing Manager at Resurgence.

Walking The Talk

Steps towards a sustainable life.

For too long now, or maybe for just the right amount of time, I have been living in a way that I knew was not right for me.

To give you a bit of background – before I became the Care Taker at The Yarner Trust I was a gardener and nurseryman. I spent a good 10 years tending to plants, digging, conditioning soil and trying to put plants first whilst caring for the local environment.

I then reached the point when I wanted to know more, to get both the big picture view and the microscopic insight into the workings of a plant and their place in the wider scheme of things.

For me, that meant going as a mature student to university. I had scraped through school and college and was more interested in travelling, partying and visiting my friends who had gone off to uni in various parts of the country than studying for another three years. But now felt like the right time. I don't know who was more freaked out by the sight of me in a white lab coat – my mates and family who had gotten used to me as a bit of Worzel Gummage meets Jack the lad or me? Whenever I caught sight of myself in the reflection of the fume cabinet with my goggles and lab coat on I would wonder if I was in an episode of Quantum Leap and was catching a view of me in another person's body.

Sitting in class doing quantum physics, macro evolution or organic chemistry I just had to keep reminding myself that I had come into this with nothing to lose and with the mentality that you can do anything you put your mind too even if you had failed GCSE maths.

Sandwiching in a year at Kew, a plant-collecting trip to Puerto Rico and a place on an EU funded biodiversity mapping project – alongside being taught by some of the most distinguished lecturers in plant diversity – made me aware of four things:

1. The world we live on is facing an extremely difficult future
2. There appears to be very little work being done to create realistic solutions to the problem of global change
3. The entire human race and the whole biological world depends completely on the plant kingdom
4. The only way to make a real impact is to practice what you preach (or hear)

For me, this makes working at the Yarner Trust the perfect job. More specifically, I can help to organise and run courses that offer practical solutions that contribute towards leading a more sustainable lifestyle. I can also take what I’ve learned about the importance of respecting the natural world into schools, colleges, prisons, business forums, garden societies and anywhere else where there are people in a position to make a positive difference.

Finally, I can use a compost toilet, grow my own food, produce some of my own energy and hopefully by the end of my time here be able to build a sustainable home which will have a minimal impact on the Earth's resources.

Jon will be doing a sponsored walk along The Green London Way, 28 May – 2 June 2012. More information here.

Jon Every is a botanist, working as Care Taker and Education Officer at The Yarner Trust. 

Photograph: Ferns by Colleen Slater

Surprising Harvests

Living in a Buddhist Centre – Life Happens II

I finally summoned up my courage (after weeks of procrastination) and uprooted a mystery plant, that had self-seeded and grown, to Triffid-like proportions, in the corner of my basement garden.  For most of its life, I had assumed that it was a sunflower – the leaves were big and pear-shaped, mid-green, with lighter veins, slightly furry and gently serrated at the edges, the stem was thick, woody and hairy...But then it had developed side shoots (like small branches) and grown really bushy...

Odd, I thought, this plant has ambitions to become a small tropical forest all by itself, whereas sunflowers are usually single stemmed, tall and leggy... Then it grew more side stems, and strong sturdy suckers...I thought it may be protesting about the lack of light by growing more and more sideways, upwards, outwards, across...  It grew to about four metres (16 feet), high: tall enough to reach the sunlight over the top of the basement.  I tied the now leaning, top heavy, stems up to the inside of our cast iron railings.  But what was it?  But then I thought – relax – let it flower.  Let it have its moment of glory as any self-respecting sunflower should!

The flowers came and were anti-climatical.  Tiny.  It was so disappointing. The flower heads were just bigger than the bottom of teacups, there were seven of them.  And, whilst the petals were yellow, so were the centres, with small stigma and tiny, undeveloped, seeds.  Sunflowers usually have those lovely dark, often chocolate brown, stigma and anthers at first, followed by the beautifully geometric Fibonacci spirals of plump seed cases, so this was a disappointment.

This giant plant came out surprisingly easily when I pulled, only to reveal dozens of white, muddy tubers attached to the roots.  It was almost surreal.  I was working in twilight, so at first I couldn’t see properly what these bumpy protuberances were, or where they were coming from.  I hadn’t expected such an abundance of what almost looked like button mushrooms: spherical, bulbous, asymmetrical and round, earth-covered, glowing, phosphorescent fruit.  I gathered a carrier bag full, of these surprising creamy, muddy, fungus-like Jerusalem artichokes, underground critters that had grown all by themselves, beneath the concrete pavements of Bermondsey, without anyone knowing or caring that they were there.  And how good they were, boiled, with butter and garlic for my supper!

Later that evening, my own seemingly stubborn and untamed mind did just the same as the plant.  I was sitting in my room, letting my mind go and just watching my thoughts.  I hadn’t got the energy to go and sit on my meditation mat, but I believe it’s OK to not force yourself to formally meditate if you don’t want to.  A friend of mine at our parent monastery, Samye Ling, recommends:  ‘Just sit, and relax and watch where your mind goes.  Avoid all that Buddhist flim-flam’.  No pressure.  Nothing fancy, just let yourself be.  No sitting in uncomfortable positions, no special room to be in.  It’s a do-nothing, pro-idleness stance. 

So I was sitting, reflecting, in my comfy chair, but actually feeling utterly depressed and miserable and my mind was racing.  I was thinking about how unforgiving and angry I am towards those who I feel have deliberately and unfairly hurt me. (And I was feeling merciless even though, in more tolerant states, I know that those who have been brutal act this way because of the brutalisation that they have suffered).  I was having all sorts of negative hate-filled thoughts.  Then I thought, if I was in the religious tradition I was brought up in, I would be blaming myself for these thoughts.  I would say I was sinning.  But, I thought, I am in the Buddhist tradition now and I can be kind to myself.  I can accept all this negatively in myself.  I don’t have to try to be lofty and repress my misery.  So, for once, I tried to stop trying to not have these thoughts.  Instead, I tried to think what are these feelings of hatred like?  Can I be kind to myself even though I am doing what I am not proud of?  Can I stay with these emotions I despise and feel ashamed of, and not blame myself for having them?

As usual, I didn’t get very far, or stay in that soothing mode for long, because my mind likes to flit. But then I became conscious of just breathing.  I was suddenly aware of sitting and breathing, having let go of identifying with my thinking.  What a release that felt like!  What was different was that I hadn’t consciously willed getting to that place, but maybe because I have practised meditating, where I have trained myself to come back to my breath, again and again, and that moment of release just came.  I would normally have stayed, hooked into negative thoughts.  

That return to my breath felt like a blessing, (isn’t it strange how we need to use theological language, even though we don’t necessarily have a theist perspective, to try and explain what these magical moments are like?)  It seemed that all that time I had spent on a mat, trying to meditate, had paid dividends.  I escaped some sort of entrapping cycle of negativity without really trying to.  This was equivalent to the miracle of my unexpected crop of artichokes.  My meditation practice has worked (to some extent)!  My mind was beginning to change!  And even though I don’t meditate in order to achieve any specific benefits, I was glowing.

Amanda Root was an academic at Oxford University and now lives and works at Kagyu Samye Dzong Tibetan Buddhist Centre, Bermondsey, London. Her article Life Happens was published on the Resurgence website. 

Photograph: Franckreporter, www.istockphoto.com